


a bear in the bed

by jswoon2



Series: a bear in the bed [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Falling In Love, M/M, Sid Deserves Good Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 20:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13372071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jswoon2/pseuds/jswoon2
Summary: Aunt Taylor doesn't know Sid broke up with Spencer over last night's dinner. He thought about calling her, but it's not that important. Taylor lives over an hour away so it's a big deal she offered her time to watch Avery. It's fine if Sid waits until the morning to break the bad news.The bear in his bed might be of first priority though.





	a bear in the bed

**Author's Note:**

> I aimed for 10k and ended up with over 13. Based on an AU swap started by nomorelonelydays. A crazy part of me actually wanted to make this even longer. I rated this as T even though there's a brief mention of masturbating and occasional cursing. If this bothers anyone, I'll gladly move it to M.
> 
> Not beta'd, only proofread. Comments are lovely!
> 
> Feel free to send headcanons or future requests to http://sinkpages.tumblr.com/ask!

When Sid wakes up, there's a bear in his bed.

 

It's three in the morning and Sid just wakes up out of habit. Usually, by this time he can hear Avery crying his bedroom. Sid will go into his son's room and rock him to sleep. Other times, Avery will just pull on his father's heartstrings until Sid gives in and agrees that Sid's bed is definitely where they should be going. As a father, it breaks Sid’s heart to know his son gets nightmares more often than not. Only this morning, there is no Avery crying because Avery slept over at Aunt Taylor's so Sid could enjoy a date night out with Spencer.

 

Aunt Taylor doesn't know Sid broke up with Spencer over last night's dinner. He thought about calling her, but it's not that important. Taylor lives over an hour away so it's a big deal she offered her time to watch Avery. It's fine if Sid waits until the morning to break the bad news.

 

The bear in his bed might be of first priority though.

 

The thing is massive. It's easily four hundred, maybe five hundred pounds, which is when Sid realizes that his wooden bed frame is broken. A single paw is larger than Sid's face. The thing, even curled up, is much too large for Sid's bed and barely fits.

 

Sid wonders for a split second how he wasn't crushed.

 

Instincts tell Sid to scream but he's robbed speechless. They live in the middle of the city. There are no bears in the city. While he was sleeping he had managed to thoroughly wrap himself in the sheets so much so that as he tries to flounder his way out of the bed, Sid ends up falling flat on his back.

 

The bear yawns. Sid freezes. One of his feet is still stuck in the blankets near the foot of the bed where he tucked the sheet in tightly. The bear's big palm comes down right in the spot Sid vacated. Its palm clenches but finds nothing there.

 

Sid slips his foot out as smoothly as possible, then makes a hasty retreat.

 

He drives to the police station rather than call them. There's no way he's going to sit at home while a bear is in his bed.

 

 

*

 

 

The cops can't find the bear. They do, instead, find a naked man standing in Sid's kitchen yielding a wooden spoon while glaring at the Sid's toaster.

 

"Sir, are you sure it wasn't just a bad dream?" one of the officers ask.

 

Sidney tries to tell him that he doesn't know the man in his kitchen either but it's obvious at this point that the police offer doesn't believe him. His argument may have been weakened by the fact that the strange man _knows_ Sid somehow. The moment the police burst in the apartment, expecting a wild animal, the man saw Sidney and his eyes just lit up.

 

Suddenly, Sid had arm's full of naked man clinging to him.

 

"Well, call us if the bear comes back," the officer's partner adds, although Sid interprets that as _don't call_.

 

He sees the officers out and now he's stuck in his tiny duplex with a mysterious man.

 

"Who are you?" Sidney asks, using his best commanding voice he possesses.

 

The man looks confused, wrapped up in Sid's Penguins throw blanket. "I'm Evgeni. Who _you_?"

 

"Shouldn't I be asking the questions since you're in my apartment? Where did you even come from? What happened to the bear?" Sid rubs his face with a groan.

 

It's four thirty in the morning.

 

"I'm bear," the man says so seriously that Sid considers that this might all just be one big fever dream.

 

"You're the bear that was in my bed," Sid deadpans.

 

Tossing the blanket back onto the couch, the man stands with authority. He's significantly taller that Sid, enough that Sid barely comes up to the man's chin. His shoulders flex and begin to hunch as the man slowly becomes hairier. Sid hears the slight popping of bones.

 

The bear that was in his bed, became a man, and now is a bear again.

 

Sid isn't sure how he's going to explain the last twenty-four hours to Taylor.

 

 

*

 

 

"So, uh, who's the big guy?" Taylor asks.

 

Evgeni, that's how the man introduced himself although Sid struggles to pronounce it correctly, is the first thing Taylor sees as her brother pulls into her driveway. Sidney wanted to leave Evgeni home but he realized once he got out of the shower, maybe leaving Evgeni alone with appliances wasn't a good idea.

 

(Evgeni attempted to wrestle the fridge, which, as old as that is, Sid kind of needs it to keep working.)

 

Sid sighs, putting his car in park.

 

His pickup truck is an old thing. It gets from Point A to Point B well enough but it's no secret in the Crosby family that they're all wishing for the day that Sid finally scraps the hunk of junk for good. Evgeni doesn't really fit and the truck overall certainly isn't really appropriate to drive around a five-year-old. It was his dad's though and with that the family has given up trying to sway Sidney with something shinier.

 

"This is Evgeni," Sid says just like he rehearsed, "he's staying with me and Avery for a little while is all."

 

"Does Avery know?" Taylor presses, slamming the car door closed when Sid tries to get out. "I think it's better to have this conversation out here where Avery can't see."

 

Sid falls silent because he knows his sister is right. "No, he doesn't. Is he inside?"

 

"Yeah, he's finishing up a rousing game of Cat & Mouse with Katie. It’s real serious business," Taylor confirms. It's a nice day so her front door is open for Sid to hear just the faint sound of the TV chatter and Avery shouting a checklist of things he can't forget at his aunt's. "Does Spencer know?"

 

"Spencer and I broke up. It's not a huge deal. I wouldn't need his permission anyway," Sid says, although he would've asked Spencer for it anyway. "Avery didn't really like him. It’s for the best," Sidney admits, looking down into his lap as he finally says it out loud. Spencer could be a really good guy when he wanted to be. Taylor always said that he should just _be_.

 

Taylor makes a noncommittal noise. "Alright," she says, stepping back to let Sid out. She raises a brow when Evgeni just sits there, watching the exchange. "I'm Taylor, Sid's sister." Smiling - her hesitant and patented _Sid's new boyfriend_ smile – she holds her hand out to shake.

 

Evgeni looks at Sid, back to Taylor, and with Sid's small nod of approval takes Taylor's hand. He surprises her, taking her hand gently, holding mainly just her fingers, before he leans forward and kisses her knuckles.

 

"Interesting guy, Sid,"

 

Sid grimaces. Interesting is one way to phrase things.

 

"Dad!"

 

Running to them eagerly, Avery waves his stuffed dog over his head. Taylor's teammate Katie comes out, trailing behind. She gives Sid a small wave, then mouths something Sid can't read to Taylor after seeing Evgeni.

 

"Hey, bud," Sid greets, kneeling to his son's perspective. "Did you behave for Aunt Taylor?"

 

"I’m always behaved," Avery replies as smugly as a child can, looking up to his aunt for reinforcement.

 

Taylor laughs, ruffling her nephew's hair. "The squirt is always on his best behavior. He's got a good dad, you know."

 

Sid blushes with an awkward cough. "Well, I guess good behavior means a quick stop at McDonald's won't hurt then."

 

Avery's face lights up. "Happy meal!"

 

"Yeah, did you tell Aunt Taylor about your collection?" Sid asks, taking the Paw Patrol backpack from his son and other bag with his son's things from Katie.

 

Before Avery can launch into telling Taylor about the long saga on how difficult it is to collect all the toys, Taylor interjects, "Don't you have some other news though, Sid?"

 

"Are we moving again?" Avery asks, his voice small.

 

Sid clutches the handle of the backpack a little firmer. He plasters on the best smile that he can, and tells his son the truth. "A friend of mine is going to be staying with us for a little bit, that’s all. We're not moving, I promised we wouldn't."

 

(Well, most of the truth.)

 

 

*

 

 

Having Evgeni around the house is weird, even more so than the fact that supposedly he's from another dimension, world, whatever. Evgeni just _understands_ Sid. It's slightly unnerving.

 

Despite the mistrust for electric appliances, Evgeni hovers behind Sid like a shadow. He knows when to step left when Sid steps right. While Sid makes dinner, he washes the dishes without a single word. Evgeni asks Sid if the sink is magic, clearly not understanding how water faucets work, but he's trying to be helpful.

 

Avery is wary in Evgeni's presence, but much like Sid's other boyfriends, leaves Sid to deal with it himself just like Sid taught him to.

 

"What this?" Evgeni asks every so often, pointing to one thing or another.

 

Toaster, refrigerator, sink, oven. Sid feels as if he's teaching Avery to speak again with the way he has to identify most of the items in the kitchen. Evgeni knows how to speak although it sounds a bit stilted and outdated. His English is accented, which Sid supposes is attributed to this other world Evgeni claims to be from.

 

"Avery, come set the table!" Sid yells into the other room. His son scuffles around, emerging from his bedroom dragging his feet.

 

"Do I have to?" Avery says, although he's already reaching for the silverware that Sid has taken out of the drawer and left on the counter.

 

The plates are too heavy for Avery to carry (not to mention, Sid is worried that Avery will break one) so typically Sid brings them over, but there's two extra hands in the kitchen. Without being asked, Evgeni takes the plates. Two of them are the same with the third being from a different set. The former was part of a housewarming gift and the latter being a single dish his ex forgot when he moved out of Sid's old place.

 

"Taste most delicious," Evgeni compliments. "What is this delicacy?"

 

Avery looks at Evgeni with a mouth full of chicken pot pie.

 

"Pot pie," Sidney answers.

 

Evgeni hums in understanding. "Pot pie best."

 

Avery smiles. "All of Dad's food is the best,"

 

Sidney's shoulders slump as he relaxes. "Thanks, bud. Don't talk with your mouth open, okay?"

 

 

*

 

 

There's no third bedroom in Sid's apartment. The couch in the living room also isn't a pullout. Sid is pretty sure that Wayne picked it up from a dumpster, which wouldn't be surprising since that's where Sid is positive Wayne belongs.

 

Wayne didn't kick Sid out of the apartment though, considering his name was on the lease. He just bolted when the prospect of dealing with Sid and Avery became too much. It was probably out of something like pity that the landlord let Sid sign a new lease a month after.

 

"I'm sleep with you then," Evgeni says like it's no problem. Like Sid doesn't have his son in the next room over, a bathroom being the only thing that keeps them apart.

 

"Avery will ask questions," Sid argues.

 

Evgeni huffs. "In my world, you my husband. We sleep in same bed every night. You wait for me, we make love, we—"

 

"Stop – just, don’t. We aren't in whatever world you're from. You're in my house so I say that we are not sleeping together," Sid says, hands on his hips.

 

"I'm king, I'm not sleep on _couch_ ," Evgeni says with distaste. An hour ago, he didn't even know what a couch was. A lounge, he called it but Sid wouldn't be able to afford one of those.

 

"Fine," Sid replies feeling defeated, "you can sleep in the bed and I'll sleep on the couch. The frame is broken anyway. God, I can't deal with this right now."

 

Perhaps a bit more forcefully than he should have with his kid sleeping, Sid slams the bedroom door shut as he storms out.

 

He should kick Evgeni out. He shouldn't allow his son to sleep in the same house as a mysterious man that claims to know Sidney – or a form of him. He should have kicked Evgeni out and stayed at Taylor's until the cops could confirm that Evgeni left. Either went back to his world or went anywhere else. Evgeni shouldn’t be Sidney’s problem.

 

The couch is uncomfortable. Sidney accepts that fate instead of tossing and turning until he's even more worked up than he is now. He finds one spot that his body just sinks into and closes his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest and the Penguins blanket wrapped around him.

 

It’s definitely from his father that he channels his inner stubbornness when a hand falls on his shoulder, warm and firm. Evgeni’s hands are huge and distracting. Now one of them is touching Sid. Sid refuses to open his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Evgeni doesn’t know what Sid looks like when he’s actually asleep. He also doesn’t understand that Sid is a dad. He’s pretended to be asleep for at least two Christmases now so he’s somewhat of a pro.

 

Evgeni makes a noise sounding deep and grumbly. It’s more animal than man, which scares Sidney a little. Without realizing, he had cried a bit earlier when Evgeni showed Sid how he shifts. It looked like something out of a monster movie. That thing held him for who knows how long while Sid slept. Supposedly, a form of him – of Sidney – is in love with that creature.

 

Strong is an apt way of describing Evgeni. From the way he carries himself despite being unsure of most modern technology to the way he scoops Sid off the couch and into his arms like he weighs nothing. Naturally, Sid’s body leans toward that warmth. He told Evgeni that he didn’t want them to sleep together so he should reveal that he’s awake and protest that he be taken back to the couch immediately, yet his hand curls around the fabric of Evgeni’s shirt. The shirt is technically Sid’s so it looks ridiculous on Evgeni. The size is easily two too small.

 

Gently, Evgeni lays Sid on the bed, covering Sid’s hand with his own. He stays paused like that, simply breathing in Sidney’s scent and drinking in this world’s version of his husband before prying Sid’s fingers away one by one. Sid expects Evgeni to do what he wants and climb in bed after only, Evgeni presses a kiss to his forehead and walks away.

 

In the morning Evgeni is on the couch, his feet dangling off the end.

 

Unfortunately, he’s naked again.

 

 

*

 

 

For a day, Sidney’s clothes worked as a good temporary fix but Evgeni doesn’t really fit any of he has to offer. Evgeni is big. All over apparently. It’s not often that he makes Avery stay in his room. When he does, it’s not for good things. He just doesn’t want to scar his son so young seeing Evgeni stretch proudly without shame. Because of the morning incident he puts it near top of the list to get Evgeni proper clothes.

 

Sid drops Avery off at school then he and Evgeni are off to Goodwill.

 

“In my world—” Evgeni starts only for Sid to cut him off.

 

“You keep saying that. _In my world_. I just don’t understand. If this isn’t your world, why are you here?” Sidney asks. He grips the steering wheel harder when he feels tears start to cloud the corners of his eyes. He hates crying. He hates it even more when people see it.

 

“I’m not know. I’m go into the forest for hunting with my men, then I’m wake up here. But I’m know that you should be my husband. Something brought me to you,” Evgeni replies, just as stressed as Sid is.

 

“Well, I – I don’t have a husband in this world so I’m not the person you’re looking for. I just – I can’t do this. I have to think about Avery and if someone comes around saying that they’re my husband of all things … I can’t do that to him,” Sid says. It’s a bit dangerous, he knows, but he pulls into a parking lot without using his turn signal because he can’t drive anymore. His hands are shaking and he doesn’t want to get into an accident because he continued to drive.

 

Evgeni makes a pained sound. “You just like him. Look like him, talk with same voice, same smile. I’m want to go home too, just not know how. This feel like home too, I don’t know why. I’m sent here for reason,”

 

Sidney closes his eyes, tries to block the tears from rolling down his cheeks but feels them escape anyway. “Please don’t. I don’t _have_ a husband.”

 

“But magic in my world. It’s beautiful. It give us our daughter, oldest. Will be queen some day when we too old and tired to rule. And a son, so small and wonderful with your eyes,” Evgeni says, voice dropping to a whisper. He reaches for Sid’s hand with one of his own and then with two when Sid tries to pull away. “We fix together,”

 

“There is no _we_ ,” Sid says. The thought makes him feel more disgusted than it has any right to.

 

The thought crosses Sid’s mind that he wants Evgeni to argue with him, to tell him _we could be_ but that’s impossible if Evgeni has a husband in another world. Even if that person is like Sid in all his physical and emotional likeness, the man holding his hand and kissing each and every tear isn’t really Sid’s at all.

 

 

*

 

 

Kris notices that something is wrong with Sidney not because of Sidney’s mood when he enters the bar, but how.

 

“You’re late,”

 

Sidney grimaces. “Thanks for noticing. You’re early for once.”

 

“What? Did your five alarms not go off when they were supposed to?” Kris jokes. He and Sid haven’t known each other for long. They weren’t even more than acquaintances until Sid moved and he needed a new job. Sidney’s parting gift from Flower was a few recommendations around the area. A bar was never the ideal place but they were the only one willing to work with Sid’s hours.

 

Now, five months later, Sid likes to think of he and Kris as friends.

 

“Taylor told me you’ve got a houseguest,” Kris says, trying for casual but being too upfront to really hit the mark. “I know it’s not my place, but Cath and I have a spare bedroom if you ever need it.”

 

“Evgeni staying is only temporary. And we’re not together,” Sid is quick to add.

 

“Oh,” Kris looks surprised, “Taylor made it sound like you guys were shacking up.”

 

“Taylor is overly concerned with my love life,”

 

Kris frowns. “She has her reasons.”

 

Sid has never had to say it out loud, the things that Spencer did or the scars that Wayne left. Kris has seen the blackeyes or the bruises around his wrists. At first, it’s easy to play things off as accidents or misunderstandings. Eventually there comes a point where people aren’t fooled anymore. It happens every time. Usually when it does, that’s when Sidney moves on. Either to a new place or a new job, with or without his boyfriend. Luckily, Sid had been smart enough to not let Spencer move in, or worse, move in with Spencer.

 

All that matters is Avery.

 

“She wants you to be happy,” Kris says, sounding like the same speech Sid gets every time another guy walks out of his and Avery’s life.

 

“I’d be happier if the Penguins could bring home another Cup for once,” Sid says to change the subject. Kris laughs dryly. Subject changed, crisis averted.

 

 

*

 

 

The duplex is still standing when Sidney returns home so he considers that a plus. Magic must be real since Evgeni convinced Sid to leave Avery alone with him for the night. Aside from Evgeni’s sudden appearance and strange ability to transform into a bear, there hasn’t been any other signs that Evgeni can’t be trusted or is dangerous. That being said, there’s no reason for Sid to really trust Evgeni either.

 

Evgeni, however, is Sid’s only option. Spencer used to be a good enough babysitter. He put Avery to bed well enough, most times not at all. Avery would do it himself just to not bother the man from football or hockey – whatever sport that Spencer couldn’t bear to drag himself away from. If Evgeni insists that he and Sid in another world, one night can’t possibly do too much damage.

 

The house is quiet, yet a mess from the front door throughout the living room with a trail directly to the culprit’s bedroom. Sid has strict rules on using finger paints in the house. Rules, that apparently, he should have informed Evgeni before leaving for work. Things were tense though. Every time he would look at Evgeni to say something, a ball would form in his throat and his eyes would get watery again. Evgeni looks at him in a way that Sid doesn’t understand. It looks gentle and caring and it makes Sidney want to scream.

 

This isn’t the way things are supposed to be.

 

One of the makers of the mess, Sidney finds in the bathroom. A lot of willpower is required to keep his gaze above the waist. Evgeni has paint all over his face and arms, drawn in intricate patterns and spirals. Sidney isn’t sure what it is that has contributed to Evgeni’s opposition to wearing clothes. He wants to consider it a bad thing, but he’s had a long day so he supposes he’s earned himself a peaceful once over of the man attempting to clean himself using only sink water.

 

“You know,” Sidney says, startling Evgeni, “a shower is probably the better way of cleaning yourself off.”

 

Strangely, Sidney swears the man pouts. “I’m not remember how to make shower work. Little Avery draw bath himself. Very talented, so smart.”

 

Sidney smiles small. He may have struggled but one day he knows that Avery will do something that will make him so proud that all of this will be worth it. Just seeing his son grow up has been reward enough. Avery is bound to go beyond expectations, like Sid would have before mistakes were made.

 

“Avery very lucky to have you,” Evgeni confesses. He doesn’t bother to dry his hands. He lets them drip water on Sidney’s floor so that Evgeni can walk closer and hold Sid’s face between two large palms. The man becomes bolder when Sid doesn’t pull away. “I know I make you cry earlier, but I’m glad to be here. With you,” he says, pressing their foreheads together.

 

Sid balls his hands into fists as his breath stutters. In his head, he counts out five seconds, savoring Evgeni’s calm breathing until he decides it’s enough. He removes Evgeni’s hands, feeling the rough callouses on the man’s palms.

 

“I’m sure somewhere I’m really lucky to have you too,” Sidney replies. Sure that he’s blinked back the tears, Sid clears his throat. “I can start the shower for you.”

 

“Sid—”

 

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch again tonight. I’ll make something up to tell Avery.” Cowardly, maybe, but Sid can’t get out of the bathroom fast enough regardless.

 

 

*

 

 

The bear is somewhat of a welcome discovery in the middle of the night. Nights are cold and running the heat every night gets expensive. It’s more important that Avery have the better blankets, leaving Sid with regular sheets to pile on top each other for warmth. Having a bear in bed does wonders for heat it appears.

 

Evgeni has effectively trapped Sidney where he is in bed. One huge bear arm keeps Sidney curled in towards Evgeni. His fur is soft to the touch, Sid leans forward, one hand fisting the thick fur. Evgeni chuffs in his sleep, one foot twitching.

 

Sidney curls his body tighter and falls asleep instantly.

 

 

*

 

 

The smoke alarm sound sends Sidney flying out of the bedroom faster than he’s moved in years. Avery’s door is open wide with no child inside. Instead, the sound of Avery’s laughter leads Sid to the kitchen where Evgeni is trying to fish two burnt slices of toast out of the toaster with his bare fingers while Avery claps with the top half of his body lying on the kitchen counter with one leg kicking in excitement and the other toying with the bar stool.

 

Sid laughs at the picture in front of him.

 

It takes only a second to turn the alarm off manually. Avery sits down instantly at the sight of his father, feigning innocence.

 

“Getting into quite the adventure this morning, eh.” Sid leans across the kitchen counter looking directly at his son who start to draw on the counter with his finger. Avery knows not to stand on the bar stools.

 

“Geno is making breakfast,” Avery says.

 

Sid raises a brow. “Geno?”

 

“Me,” Evgeni provides, “I’m Geno. Easy for little tongues to say.”

 

“Right,” Sid says, just choosing to accept the situation: his house is a mess. “How about you sit down and I make breakfast for everyone? Some unburnt pancakes sound like a good idea.”

 

“With chocolate chips!” Avery adds eagerly.

 

“I don’t know. Does Geno want chocolate chips with his pancakes?” Sidney asks.

 

Evgeni furrows his brows. “I’m not know what chocolate chips are but I’m try.”

 

“You don’t know what chocolate chips are,” Avery says in disbelief. “They’re the best.”

 

“If they best, I’m have to try,” Evgeni says with finality. He raises his hands in the air, curling his hands like bear claws and runs to Avery with a playful growl. It sounds all too human. Avery lets out a set of giggles, his head thrown back as Evgeni nuzzles his face into the crook of the boy’s neck, one hand rubbing his belly.

 

Sidney thinks he just heard his heart break a little on the inside.

 

“Hey Dad, what’s all that on your shirt?” Avery asks, eyes wide.

 

Sid looks down, sees bunches of brown fur on his sleep clothes and thinks _shit_.

 

 

*

 

 

There’s not a whole lot of time that Sidney can get right now to talk to his son without Evgeni somewhere within hearing distance. He wouldn’t feel right pulling Avery aside where Evgeni could see either. It would make things obvious that Sid wants to talk about Evgeni.

 

Sid drops Evgeni off at the library, a request of Evgeni’s, on the condition the man behave. Suddenly, after two days of having a third person in their little home, they’re alone again.

 

“What do you think of Geno, bud?” Sid asks, taking quick glances next to him. Sid expects this to be a hard question for his son but Avery beams.

 

“I like him. He’s nice,” Avery says.

 

“You know Geno’s only staying with us temporarily, right?” Sid checks.

 

Avery’s happy smile fades slightly. “Yeah,” he says dejectedly. Then, bouncing back, “Geno told me this cool bedtime story where people could turn into animals. Like big animals, bigger than trees. Geno was the biggest, coolest bear ever. Not even Geno’s dad is a bigger than him!”

 

“One day you might be bigger than me, eh,” Sid says a bit tightly, reaching over ruffle his son’s hair playfully to lighten the mood. That could be just him feeling like that though. He’s a bit unsure of himself the past few days.

 

 

*

 

 

During his shift Avery’s hockey coach comes waltzing in with a bunch of his regular bar buddies. Sid typically doesn’t serve them. His place is behind the bar while Kris and Carl will run tables. It’s a warning sign if Sid has ever seen one when the man doesn’t sit when the rest of his party does, instead making his way to the bar.

 

“Sid,” the man greets.

 

“What can I get you, Dana?” Sid says with his customer service voice.

 

Dana raps his knuckles on the bar to stall. He and his friends always order the same things. “I called you earlier today to talk to you about Avery, hoping that we could do this over the phone,” Dana begins to explain.

 

“I’ve been at work all night, I didn’t realize I missed your call,” Sidney cuts in.

 

“That’s fine, Sid. I understand,” Dana sighs.

 

Between the two of them, Carl returns with an empty tray. He pops open a bottle of Dana’s usual beer and places that in front of the man, working on the rest of the order next.

 

“Thanks, Carl,” Dana quickly says before Carl has moved on. “Listen, Sid, I thought this would be better to discuss over the phone but it might be quicker to do it now while I have you here. Avery is off the team.”

 

Sidney looks straight over Dana’s shoulder at the wall, ignoring Kris brush up behind him. “I’ll have the money for the dues as soon as I get my next paycheck, I promise.”

 

“I know,” Dana admits, “but the other parents don’t think it’s fair that we give you extensions on the payment every time. I get that lessons and equipment and all the other bells and whistles are expensive but maybe this is just a sign that now isn’t a good time for hockey. The season is about to start and dues are dues.”

 

“I – I can’t tell my son he’s off another team. It’ll break his heart,” Sid says, imploring the man to understand.

 

All Dana has to say is another soft, “I know.”

 

In the comfort of his truck, he cries again with darkness around him. When he’s left with no more tears to cry with he opens the car door to see Evgeni standing there dressed in Sid’s ill-fitting clothes. He shouldn’t, but Evgeni’s arms are open and the warmth of his body is so welcoming.

 

He apparently _does_ have more tears to cry. Evgeni’s shirt just absorbs them all.

 

 

*

 

 

Avery responds as well as a five-year-old can while being denied something they really love. He goes into tantrum mode. He yells that it isn’t fair. That he just made friends on the team. Why is hockey so expensive? Sidney never told Avery how expensive hockey is. Money shouldn’t _be_ an issue. He’ll give Coach Dana an arm, a leg, and his entire piggy bank to keep playing on the team. Then, Avery does something that Sid taught him to never do unless it’s an emergency. Avery locks the door.

 

Sid bangs on the door until the neighbor next door checks in to see if everything is okay, and really, she never did that all the times he had argued with Spencer but now she’s concerned about the noise. He closes the door on her face in disbelief. His body feels heavy. But to Evgeni, Sid is light. The man takes Sid into his arms and carries him to the couch.

 

Evgeni sits so Sid is still cradled in the man’s lap. It’s probably a ridiculous sight. Sid isn’t exactly a small man but he feels so dwarfed but also safe in Evgeni’s arms. Once Sid feels like he’s back in his skin he’ll consider scolding Evgeni for it but he can’t stop the man from transforming right on the couch. His bear form holds Sidney just as naturally as his human one does, only now Sid feels the couch start to creak under the immense weight.

 

“We’re too big,” he tells Evgeni weakly, his hands seeking out Evgeni’s big bear paw. His claws are sharp but the pads of the massive paw are oddly cute.

 

Evgeni huffs out a breath, mussing up Sidney’s hair. Sidney doesn’t really notice. He’s too busy tracing lines around Evgeni’s paw. The man rests his big bear head on top of Sid’s.

 

The clothes that Evgeni had been wearing are merely just shreds of cloth littered all around them.

 

 

*

 

 

“Will you be picking up Avery after school today?” the lady at the front desk asks. Her name is Deborah and she’s very familiar with Sid’s situation. Too familiar. Although, he would keep things between just himself if he had the choice.

 

“No, I, uh, think one of the Dupuis will be picking him up,” Sid says, anxiously fidgeting with his keys.

 

“Alright, Mr. Crosby, I will walk your son to his class then,” she says, taking back the clipboard with Sid’s name. The tardy clipboard. His name is on it quite a bit.

 

Sid feels shaky on his feet when he says goodbye to his son. “Be good for your teacher,”

 

“I will,” Avery says. He looks at his father, eyes still red from this morning. Sid doesn’t kneel down to give him a kiss goodbye. It’s hard. Like an octopus, Avery attaches to his father’s legs. “I’ll be good, promise.”

 

For a brief moment, he pushes his son away, drops to his knees and tugs the boy back into his arms. “I know,” Sid says, pressing a kiss into Avery’s messy hair. “I love you, bud.”

 

“I love you, too, Dad.”

 

Avery makes it to school two hours late. It’s a record.

 

 

*

 

 

“Little Avery okay?” Evgeni asks, sitting in Sid’s truck right where he left him.

 

Sid slips inside. He takes a moment to just breathe, holding his forehead against the steering wheel to anchor himself. Evgeni places a reassuring hand on Sid’s thigh.

 

“You know he loves you,”

 

“I know,” Sid says, afraid of his voice breaking. “He’s never said that before. That he wants to live with Taylor, I mean. It only happened once, for a summer. Wayne was – he was _Wayne_. He never wanted kids but then we got together and you can’t just have _me_. Me and Avery are a package deal and he promised he understood that but, he didn’t. Most guys don’t. That’s the most upset he’s ever been towards me. He’s never raised his voice so much or been so afraid to talk to me. I – it hurts to know that he felt like that again, that he’s just had so much bundled up that he felt he couldn’t tell me.”

 

“Maybe he not tell you because he know you have other things to worry about,” Evgeni suggests. His thumb strokes the outside of Sid’s leg. “You worry lots.”

 

“I’m his father, of course I’m going to worry about him,” Sidney cuts in. Taking in a deep breath, he sits up abruptly to exhale. “I’m going to be late for work. Shit. Are you sure you’re okay with just sitting in the library until my shift is over?”

 

“See,” Evgeni says an example, “always working, always worrying. Avery smart kid, he watches you and maybe he keeps things from you to keep you from more worry.”

 

Sid focuses on breathing and in a flash, his hand is off the steering wheel and clenching Evgeni’s tightly.

 

“ _Я вас понимаю_ ,” Evgeni says hoarsely. With some difficultly, he slides closer in Sid’s small truck until he’s close enough to wrap his arm around Sid’s shoulders. He presses a chaste kiss to Sid’s temple and speaks more of a language Sid can’t understand. “ _Хочу, чтобы ты бил мой_.”

 

He keeps himself from asking for a translation. Evgeni sounds so forlorn. It’s better he doesn’t know.

 

 

*

 

 

Although Sidney goes to the library to work first, it’s technically his second job. Working at the bar alone wasn’t enough when he has to rely on tips to get by. Food service pays next to nothing and Sid can only afford to take so many night shift hours. So, the library is a part time thing to help him get buy. It started off as volunteering, to get his foot into the door. He’s hoping that he doesn’t become desperate enough to need more.

 

Typically, Sid will man the front counter to make sure nobody leaves the library without renting their books. He lets Jess cover that today so he can reshelf the books. If he’s lucky, Evgeni won’t catch on that Sidney is only doing it to keep an eye on him.

 

 

*

 

 

Duper calls Sid during his shift, adding to the list of things that have gone wrong this week.

 

“I just wanted to let you know that Avery got a red star today. He’s pretty worked up about it,” Duper says in French. Sid supposes the kids must be in the car. Avery will hear his name and know Duper is talking about him anyway so it seems like extra work to be sneaky when kids know when they’ve done something wrong and dad’s being called.

 

“We had a rough morning,” Sid replies in English. Alexandre told Sid his French was atrocious.

 

The library has a no cellphone policy but exception has always been made for Sidney in case Avery needs him. His shift is almost over anyway, nobody really cares that much to reprimand him for it.

 

“Seems like more than that. I just wanted to give you a warning. Mrs. Evans told me that you came in late this morning, is everything alright?”

 

Sid frowns, spotting Evgeni surrounded by kids pointing at books on the high shelfs. He pulls down each book with care, each book being clearly above the children’s reading level. Evgeni plays along until he has ten books gathered on the floor and the kids have lost interest in what Evgeni’s massive height can reach.

 

“Things have been better.”

 

 

*

 

 

He’s secretly grateful for it, but he curses his friends for gossiping about him behind his back regardless.

 

No sooner than when Sid got one foot into the bar, Kris was pushing him back outside. “You have the night off! Looks like I forgot to call you,” he says jovially.

 

“Why?” Sid asks. He’s just tired.

 

Kris crosses his arms over his chest, unmoving. “Doctor’s orders.”

 

His doctor sure sounds like Duper. “And who’s taking my shift on late notice?”

 

“Olli,”

 

“That kid is barely old enough to drink,”

 

“We’re training him early then. Phil and I can handle the bar. It’s a Tuesday, nobody comes in on a Tuesday,” Kris says, like it’s easy. “Go home, and get some rest. You look like the dead tonight.”

 

Sid sighs. That’s six hours of his life he planned to spend working that he doesn’t have to now. He stands at the door of the bar stupidly, considering driving around for the next hour to clear his head. His son doesn’t expect him home until the morning and Evgeni thinks he’s working again. Sid could go anywhere. He could run away or drive to Taylor’s.

 

He goes home.

 

 

*

 

 

His mind is in a haze, like his mind isn’t grounded in his body. A shower helps but himself back together a little. Only, at this point, he wishes he had gotten it together earlier because now he’s naked from his shower with no clothes in the bathroom to get dressed with.

 

Evgeni is watching TV when Sid slips out of the bathroom, his towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He shuts the bedroom door and just lays on the bed in his towel-clad state.

 

Softly, on the other side of the door, Evgeni knocks.

 

The asshole doesn’t wait for Sid to grant him permission to come inside.

 

“Sid want to be alone?” he asks cautiously.

 

Sid shakes his head. He’s always alone. He doesn’t want to be this time.

 

Evgeni takes his place on the bed, arms open for Sid to slip inside their hold.

 

 

*

 

 

It scares Sidney how tightly he’s clutching onto Evgeni by the morning. He slept like the dead and in a wet towel, now dry and stiff around his hips. Evgeni is already awoken, looking at Sid and Sid wants to ask how Evgeni manages to wake up before him every morning. He’s sure that Evgeni fell asleep last. The man was speaking to Sid in that language again, low and in his ear like they were private words only Sid could hear.

 

That was all Sid needed to fall asleep.

 

“Avery,” Sid says. He should check on his son.

 

“Avery quiet as mouse,” Evgeni replies.

 

Evgeni holds Sid closer, until he slips one leg between Sid’s own. Sid doesn’t think the towel will hold together much longer. Evgeni doesn’t care. He just noses down Sidney’s cheek, breathing heavy through a mixture of his mouth and nose. The morning breath should be appalling but Sid lets him have this moment.

 

Sid lets himself steal a kiss.

 

Evgeni groans like a wounded man. He presses back with more intent, although still chaste, just like Sid had started it. His lips move slowly, focused on Sid’s bottom lip. Sid arches his back, feeling Evgeni squeeze him tighter. By the time Evgeni is done sucking on Sid’s bottom lip, he feels a bit wrecked, even for a bit of chaste kissing. Evgeni’s hands have wandered down to Sid’s ass, his fingers flexing but not groping.

 

Easily, Sid could discard the towel and let his husband have him.

 

Evgeni isn’t actually his husband though. Not here.

 

“Sid,” Evgeni says, startled when Sid pulls away in haste. “Sid, I’m not mean to—”

 

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” Sid closes his eyes, clenches his hand around the knot on his towel. “You have a husband.”

 

Evgeni makes a hurt noise. “You are my husband.”

 

“Not here,”

 

“You not let me be husband _here_ ,” Evgeni insists. “I’m want you. I’m feel like I’m here for you.”

 

“And when you finally go back to your own world, you won’t be here for me anymore. You have a family and a whole kingdom. It’s only a matter of time before you’re sent back. I bet they’re looking for you right now,”

 

Sid finally does what he should have last night, he grabs his clothes to get dressed. Thank goodness for the bathroom. He doesn’t want to be around Evgeni right now. He’s already used to Evgeni being in his house.

 

That scares him.

 

How silent Avery is over breakfast scares him a bit more.

 

 

*

 

 

Wednesdays are usually hockey practice days. Sid used to carpool with another child’s parents. That isn’t necessary now, and Sid somewhat feels like they knew that Sid and Avery would be asked to leave. A bitter part of him feels like it was them that was part of the complaining.

 

Avery comes home with a yellow star, which typically brings about the conversation on good behavior. Sidney can’t find the energy for it. He hopes that game night will bring back some semblance of normalcy.

 

“You can answer the door,” Sid tells Avery, “it’s Aunt Taylor.”

 

He’s a grown man but he kind of wants his sister and if he can convince her to drive over to spend time with his son, he’ll use the leverage best he can.

 

Like a spring, Avery jumps up to race to the door, leaving Evgeni abandoned from where they were playing house. The man looks genuinely affronted that Avery left in the middle of their tea party.

 

“Hey, squirt,” Taylor greets, scooping up her nephew into her arms. There’s a faint bruise on her cheek. “Hey, Squid,”

 

Sidney smiles. “Hey,” he says, giving her a hug. “What happened to your cheek?”

 

“Eh, nothing serious. Just tried blocking some shots in practice without a mask. Trust me, coach already gave me the talk. Never trying that again,” Taylor reassures him. She hands Sidney a grocery bag despite the fact that Sid told her not to bring anything and directs her attention to Evgeni. “Hey, Evgeni, was it?”

 

“Yes,” Evgeni confirms, standing to greet Sid’s sister, “but figure Geno better for English tongues.”

 

“Alright, Geno, well, I hope that you’re ready for a long Crosby game night. We get competitive, don’t we?” she asks Avery, bouncing him in her arms.

 

Avery giggles, chiming in a proud, “Yes!”

 

Sid’s family is together.

 

 

*

 

 

“You never told me how long he’s staying with you,” Taylor says as Sid walks her out to her car. It’s just to the driveway but he insists on doing it every time.

 

“I would give you an answer but I don’t have one,” Sid admits because if he’s going to tell the truth to anyone it’ll be Taylor. She’ll tell him the truth in a way that won’t hurt him, but in the way he needs to hear things.

 

She makes a face, displeased. “How’s Avery dealing with it?”

 

“He likes Geno enough,”

 

“And how much do you like _Geno_?” she asks, saying his name as if it’s something special. As if she wasn’t calling him that all night either.

 

“I like him,” Sid says and leave it at that.

 

“You deserve good things, Sid, and if you want Geno, what are you waiting for? The way he looks at you is just – I like him, too, you know. He seems like he cares about you a lot,” Taylor points out, ignoring how Sid is trying to move on.

 

“Goodnight, Taylor,”

 

Taylor laughs a bit emptily. “I’ll take the hint. Bye, Sid,” she says, hugging him tight. “I’ll text you when I get home.”

 

“Okay, drive safe, eh. It’s dark,” Sid tells her.

 

She smiles. It’s weird seeing it, the way how she smiles so similarly to how he used to. They used to get asked if they were twins all the time when they both started college. The similarities were striking.

 

“Goodnight,” she says, always one to get the last word in. Then, she’s in her car and driving away.

 

Back inside Evgeni is cleaning dishes with Avery drying them. Taylor brought over cheesecake, the variety kind that comes in one flavor of each. He wanted to send Taylor home with the leftovers but Taylor insisted Sid keep it. Evgeni really liked the cheesecake. Out of all the foods Evgeni has or hasn’t recognized, cheesecake was one that he knew.

 

Evgeni still let Sidney choose his piece first, the chocolate swirl that only has one.

 

“I’ll help Geno finish up, you should go take a shower,” he tells Avery. It’s eight forty-five, a bit later than when he usually lets his son stay up. Especially on a school night. “Make sure you call me if you need help,”

 

Avery nods in agreement.

 

“Close the curtain but leave the door open so I can hear you,” Sidney further instructs.

 

Avery just continues to agree, used to the same routine.

 

Evgeni cleans in silence until the shower clicks on. “Taylor ask for my intentions.”

 

“I’m sorry about that,” he apologizes instinctually, followed up with a groan. He should be a little happy though. Sid can’t remember the last time Taylor has approved of one of his relationships.

 

“I’m say I protect your honor as man should,” Evgeni replies.

 

“Honor,” Sid laughs. “You didn’t have to play along. I told her that this is still only temporary. We aren’t together.” Evgeni frowns. He’s getting tired hearing of Sid saying that they’re nothing as much as Sid is tired of having to say it. “Don’t try to explain your world again, please. Not tonight.”

 

“I’m think it almost time. For me to go back,” Evgeni says, more focused on washing the dish in front of him than anything else.

 

“How do you know?”

 

Evgeni shrugs. “I’m feel it,”

 

 

*

 

 

Thursday starts off brighter.

 

No one cries, Avery gets to school on time, and Sidney’s house is mostly put back into order. Evgeni insists on staying home. Taylor showed him the wonders of the internet and despite not being able to type more than one finger positioned on the keyboard at once, Evgeni has made it his mission to find out what kind of magic sent him into the other world by using the power of Google.

 

Sid knows the internet is a deep web of anything imaginable but he’s not sure if the internet will have anything useful aside from oddball conspiracy theories.

 

His library shift only lasts three hours before he gets to go home. He doesn’t get any phone calls about bear sightings or his house burning (Evgeni has yet to master the oven like he has the toaster) so he proceeds into his home without too many worries.

 

Evgeni is simultaneously glued to the TV as well as the old laptop sitting on the coffee table. The TV is playing a criminal investigation show – Sid isn’t sure which one, there’s so many – and on the laptop a video of a dog chasing its tail plays.

 

“Sid,” Evgeni says, taking Sid’s hand to pull him onto the couch, “internet is wonderful. YouTube is _magical_.”

 

Sid chuckles. “Yeah, lots of good things out on YouTube,” he replies. Something tells Sidney that Evgeni hasn’t gotten much done in the day so far. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

 

“I’m find more. Puppies all over. Sanja would love YouTube,” Evgeni says.

 

“So, YouTube told you how you’re going to get back to your world?”

 

“No, no, internet tell me I come from UFO but I’m not remember alien probing my body. Internet most helpful in finding cute animal videos,” Evgeni gleefully explains, letting YouTube autoplay yet another video. This time about a man being followed by little ducklings that imprinted on him.

 

Figuring that he has another three hours before he has to go to pick up his son, Sidney puts his feet up on the coffee table, leaning onto Evgeni’s shoulder, and accepts that this is how he’s going to spend the rest of his afternoon until then. Avery would be proud of him. The ducklings are really cute.

 

 

*

 

 

Karen means well but she’s also a nosy bitch.

 

All of Sid’s car windows are rolled down and he’s minding his business while waiting on the carline when Karen decides to walk over. She’s definition of a PTA mom with blonde highlighted hair and a bob cut Sid thought was outdated even when Taylor was still in high school. Sid is pretty sure that her husband is a dentist and she’s a receptionist a corporate office.

 

Overall, they’re pretty well off.

 

“Hey there, Sidney. How’s Avery been doing?” she asks. Her daughter is two grades older than Avery. Karen likes to stick her nose in places where it doesn’t belong though.

 

“He’s been doing good, just adjusting to some changes,” he admits since he’s sure she knows about the hockey club incident. Avery plays – played – with a classmate of his and surely enough if Avery didn’t mention that he was off the team, someone else would have said it. Karen knows.

 

“Well, I just want to put it out there that the annual charity dinner is coming up and we greatly appreciate whatever each family has to contribute, be it your time or a monetary donation,” Karen says.

 

Sid has gotten all the newsletters. Karen must have had the school send three flyers home by now. “I’ve already let Carole-Lyne Dupuis know that I’ll be there to volunteer. I already got time off.”

 

“Oh,” Karen says like she’s just gotten a new bit of gossip. “Well, that’s fantastic. I’ll see you there, then. Friday the sixteenth, all volunteers should be there an hour early!”

 

“No problem, Karen,” Sid says, gritting his teeth. He wants this woman to step away from his car.

 

Karen hums.

 

Sid counts his lucky stars that some of the children start to exit the building. Her child comes out first, chattering the ear off of a student volunteer. The teen doesn’t look particularly engaged in the conversation, tugging on the girl’s hand to prevent her from walking into the street where the cars are lined up to pick up their kids.

 

Avery comes out last, holding the hand of an older Dupuis child.

 

It might be foul play but Sid opens up his door anyway, forcing Karen away from his truck. “Hey guys,” he says, greeting the children.

 

They all give back a reply along with a lifeless _hello Mrs. Smith_. Four kids climb into his truck through the driver’s side, packed tightly together and along with Sid, the car is full.

 

Sid is very grateful that Kody attends a gifted school. He’s not sure if his old clunker could fit another Dupuis.

 

 

*

 

 

“Can we go to Maeva’s hockey game, Dad?” Avery asks over dinner. They’re eating early tonight because Sid has to work and if Sid can’t tuck his kid into bed, he’s sure as hell going to prepare him dinner.

 

“When is it?” he asks, mentally preparing this month’s calendar.

 

Avery purses his lips, trying to remember. His peas look like they’ve seen better days. They’ve been pushed all over the plate to look like Avery’s been eating them. “I don’t remember.”

 

“It’s okay,” Sid sighs. He’s tired. He’s not sure when he isn’t. “I can always call the Dupuis and ask. We can go as long as it isn’t tomorrow. I can’t get off Fridays.”

 

“Can we go out to dinner too?” Avery asks.

 

Sid goes for a smile. “We’ll see,” he says. His parents used to tell him that when he was Avery’s age. It always worked for them, and it works for him now.

 

Evgeni takes his second helping of mashed potatoes, chewing carefully. “I’m take Avery to hockey game,” he suggests. “If dad says it’s okay.”

 

“I’ll try to make sure that I’m off,” Sid reassures. “Eat your peas. You need to have a vegetable.”

 

 

*

 

 

Maeva Dupuis’ game is not a Friday, it’s on Saturday early afternoon. It still takes a little schedule juggling but Sid manages to hand his shift off Jess. She almost needs the hours more than Sid does. She’s a fulltime student so she takes all the hours that she can get her hands on and Sid doesn’t blame her. He doesn’t get paid enough to be upset about the four hours he took off.

 

Minimum wage just manages to pay for a full tank of gas when he’s lucky.

 

The rink is filled with parents taking their sides. Finding the Dupuis family is easy since they’re practically a clan. Only Maeva and Kody play hockey but not on the same team, despite Maeva’s determination to be a better hockey player than her older brother. It’s a sibling rivalry that Sidney finds amusement in.

 

It reminds him of himself and Taylor when they were younger and living in Cole Harbor.

 

Now Taylor is the only one still playing hockey. Coaches used to applaud Sidney on his hockey skills but he’s always known that his sister is the one that really deserves to keep playing the game the way she has.

 

“How’s school going, you guys?” Sidney asks, patting all the kids on the heads. They giggle mostly, hugging him around the waist with their faces pressed against his stomach.

 

“Awesome!” Zoe says excitedly. “We watched a plant grow in science class!”

 

“Oh, yeah, science. The good ol’ mitochondria,” Sid helpfully adds. He looks for Avery who has long abandoned him for Carole-Lyne to tell her all about the picture he drew that’s now proudly on the Crosby refrigerator.

 

Lola climbs into his lap wordlessly. “I didn’t get a hug,” she tells him.

 

“Sorry about that,” Sid apologizes, stroking her hair. The braids must have been done by Pascal.

 

Carefully, Kody approaches Sid’s side, putting a serious hand on Sid’s shoulder as he leans down to whisper into his ear, “Is that your boyfriend?”

 

Sid clears his throat awkwardly, gaze going slowly to Evgeni who has been hovering cautiously. He wanted to go see the game, not wanting to be left out. The other night he had watched the Flyer’s game with an odd fascination until Avery told him that the only Pennsylvania team that matters are the Penguins.

 

“This is Evgeni,” Sid says, gesturing.

 

Evgeni smiles, wide and a bit goofy-like when he tries to make Avery laugh. “Call me Geno,”

 

Duper appears behind Evgeni, his wife’s purse in hand. Something tells Sidney that he was off fussing over Maeva. He offers his hand to shake first. Hiding Evgeni from Duper didn’t last very long. “Nice to meet you finally. Sid’s told me so much about you,” he says, like a traitor.

 

Evgeni’s eyes widen slightly. “Only good things I’m hope,”

 

“Great things,” Carole-Lyne confirms.

 

There’s a reason why Sid fears the French Canadians. They know everything.

 

 

*

 

 

Sergei Gonchar is Maeva’s hockey coach. He’s originally from Russia but his English is very good and the Dupuis joke that his French is even better than Sid’s. Sid laughs because his kid is standing there but the glare he shoots Duper later is nothing short of deadly – or at least Sidney thinks it is.

 

Evgeni and Gonch also hit it off.

 

Maeva modestly retells how she scored the goal, _unassisted_ at that, that tied it up to allow them to win. She does it for her father then again for her mother and separately for Sid. Her little face practically lights up seeing that Sid brought someone so she has yet another audience member to rehash it all.

 

Sidney watches carefully. Meava stands on the bleacher step one higher than where Evgeni sits to be taller than the man she’s talking to. Her hair is wet with sweat and her face is lit up with excitement. Avery listens carefully as well, playing with the strings of Evgeni’s hoody from where he sits on Evgeni’s lap.

 

Quickly, he snaps a picture with his phone, afraid of overthinking it. He’s been in need of a new wallpaper anyway.

 

“Does Geno plan on sticking around long?” Duper asks. He has an armful of Zoe hanging off him before her mother corrects her.

 

Sid bites his lip. “I don’t think so,”

 

“I don’t say this often about your boyfriends but I like this one,” Duper says.

 

“You’ve only ever met Spencer,”

 

“Flower told Kris and Kris told me,” Duper replies, shrugging. “Let yourself have this one.”

 

“Evgeni is just temporary,”

 

Duper furrows his brows. “Who’s Evgeni?”

 

“Geno, Evgeni, he – he came up with the nickname himself, I think,” Sidney says. He looks away as Evgeni blows a raspberry onto his son’s cheek.

 

“How come you don’t call him Geno too? The kids do,”

 

Sid feels similar to a broken record when he repeats, “This is just temporary.”

 

“Who says?”

 

“What?” Sid asks, confused.

 

Duper huffs like he’s explaining a hard concept to his children, patient but worn. “Who says Geno is only temporary?” Sid doesn’t answer since he doesn’t have one. “Correct me if I’m wrong, because I could be, but Kris told me about Jack. Flower thought Jack would be pretty permanent but _you_ ended things there.”

 

“Jack was too young. He had his whole life and career right in front of him. I couldn’t make him stay. He would’ve gotten tired of us sooner or later,” Sid argues.

 

Jack Johnson was one of Flower’s coworkers. They met as part of a blind date. Four months later Jack was being offered an overseas, fully paid position in Japan and how could Sidney possibly ask him to stay?

 

“You should have let him decide that by himself. Maybe he would have surprised you. Maybe he would’ve stayed,” Duper says.

 

“He wouldn’t have,” Sid says, sure of himself.

 

Duper shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not.” He pauses, looking at Evgeni hoist Avery in his arms. The rink is starting to close and all the people inside are beginning to be ushered out. “Are you going to give Geno the chance to decide?”

 

Sid puts on a brave smile. Duper wouldn’t understand the situation.

 

Sidney isn’t even sure that he does.

 

 

*

 

 

Avery is still pumped up after the game, holding onto the last bit of energy he has. Evgeni has done a good job of working that energy off, keeping Avery occupied as Sidney drives home. By the time he pulls into the driveway, Avery is asleep, his head against Evgeni’s shoulder.

 

Evgeni doesn’t even think about carrying Avery inside. He just does it.

 

“I’m put Avery to bed tonight. You take a shower first, Sid,” Evgeni says, whispering although Avery’s eyes are opening and protesting that he’s awake.

 

Sid weakly protests, “It’s alright, I can do it.” He’s done it by himself so many time before. One more won’t hurt.

 

Only, Evgeni replies, “It my turn.”

 

Sheepishly, Avery buries his face into the crook of Evgeni’s neck, his hands fisted into the hoody of Evgeni’s jacket. “I got this,” Evgeni says, echoing the phrase Zoe taught him. He rubs Avery’s back soothingly and naturally leans into Sid’s space to kiss him on the temple.

 

Sid is so put into shock Evgeni plucks the keys from his hands and lets himself into the apartment himself. Into Sidney’s house.

 

Getting undressed feels like going through the motions. His hands are moving without thinking about it. His fingers even shake a little. He should have let Evgeni know that kissing was off bounds the moment Evgeni called Sidney his husband.

 

Deep into his thoughts, Sidney plants his left hand onto the shower wall, feeling the hot water going down his back. It burns but he’ll get used to it. His hand is distinctly missing a wedding ring. He can’t stop looking. Even that finger is slightly bent, back from when he broke his fingers from hockey. The doctor reset the finger but when it healed, it did so slightly crooked. It makes the fact that its bare even more obvious to Sid.

 

Sid can only laugh. He looks like a dramatic scene from a movie, only he’s not the hot male lead. He’s just a single dad with a long list of bills and problems left from the people he thought he could trust.

 

Maybe Evgeni is the hot male lead.

 

To an outside perspective, Sid thinks it makes sense. Evgeni is a king, or at least where he comes from. He has a whole kingdom that follows him and looks up to him. He has a loving child, a princess. Sidney bets that in Evgeni’s world that the man draws animals to him when he sings. He might even have an animal companion that somehow Evgeni can understand the language of. Not to mention, the man’s strengths.

 

Evgeni is tall and big all over. Sid has seen that more times than he’s actually needed to. His strength is calculated. The way that he controls his bear shift. His hands – and his _paws_ – are massive yet gentle. He can hold Sidney in any form without Sid feeling as if he’s in danger. There’s a certain kind of grace he has as a bear where he’s more comfortable. The heat he radiates is welcoming.

 

Sid is a bit weak. He’s given in, burrowing into that heat in the middle of the night.

 

The fact that he’s so strong but gentle is what makes Sid a wreck the most. Evgeni could take him apart easily. He could pin Sid down and easily as Evgeni said on their first night together, _make love to him_.

 

Evgeni is interested. Sid feels it in the morning, the hard length of him pressing against Sidney’s leg. It should maybe scare him. Whether as a man or bear, Sid has tried to ignore the man’s hard cock sitting against him while Evgeni is unclothed. Feeling a bit guilty, Sid wraps a hand around his cock, jerking halfheartedly. He hasn’t been able to masturbate for some time now. Evgeni makes for such a pretty picture.

 

Evgeni is soft asleep by the time Sid is done with his shower. He’s shirtless, just another thing that drives Sid’s resolve crazy.

 

Sid slips into bed, contemplating whether he should disturb Evgeni to cuddle but he doesn’t have to wonder long. Evgeni grumbles beneath his breath, raising an arm off the bed, giving Sid just enough room to curl inside the shape along the man’s body.

 

In his dream, he thinks about kissing Evgeni over and over until his smile is too wide to keep going.

 

Evgeni looks even more handsome wearing his crown. Sidney’s looks pretty good too.

 

 

*

 

 

When Sid starts to get out of the bed he doesn’t realize that his feet don’t touch the ground immediately. He stretches his arms high above his head with a yawn. The alarm goes off shortly after. His alarm has always been precautionary. If he doesn’t wake up naturally, Avery certainly will.

 

Sid wakes Avery up next, then pushes the sleepy boy into the bathroom so they can brush their teeth together. Breakfast is first, then getting dressed, and by the time Avery is happy with his outfit (he’s a big boy who can decide what to wear by himself) Sid will have Avery’s lunch ready boxed away in the Power Rangers lunchbox Aunt Taylor got him last Christmas.

 

The coffee maker decides that it doesn’t want to work this morning so Sid is extra groggy while he makes Avery scrambled eggs. He burns them.

 

After Avery is properly bundled up for school, Sid loses his keys next.

 

“I’m sorry, we’re going to be late,” Sid says.

 

Avery shuffles his feet. “Can I go play in the snow?”

 

Throughout the night it snowed two inches. If the neighborhood had a homeowner’s association, maybe they would have asked him to shovel it. Sid has a five-year-old. Avery can just dance through and kick it away.

 

“Fine,” he as he makes a beeline to the back bedroom, “but don’t lay down in it! You can’t be wet for school!” Sid pats his hands all throughout the contents on top his dresser and finds nothing. “I don’t have time for this,” he mutters to himself.

 

The only other place he can think that he left his keys is in his pants he wore yesterday. In a rush, he tries to cut corners around his bed. He bangs his knee on the footboard instead.

 

“Fuck,” he curses. Sparing an extra second, he sits down on the bed, holding his knee. The reflection from the mirror on the wall stares back on him. It dawns on him. “Fuck. _Fuck_. Where’s Geno?”

 

 

*

 

 

One does not simply imagine a man that can turn into a bear.

 

“It’s going to be just you and I tonight for dinner,” Sid says to Avery in the car.

 

Avery looks at his father like this information isn’t very new to him. Except maybe for the Spencer thing. “Okay,” his son replies. “Can we have dinner with the Dupuis again soon? Or another sleepover with Aunt Taylor?”

 

Sid takes a deep breath. The thought of Evgeni’s kiss is fresh on his mind. That must have been part of his dream too. “Sure, buddy, I’ll make some calls.”

 

“Awesome. Bye, Dad!” Avery throws the car door open wildly, giving his father a quick kiss on the cheek, then runs out to join Alex Letang.

 

He phones Taylor on the way home. She doesn’t ask about Evgeni at all.

 

He calls Duper in the safety of his own home once his hands stop to shake. Duper doesn’t notice the way Sid’s voice shakes while he talks.

 

“Great timing,” Duper tells Sid, “Carole-Lyne was going to give you a call later this week. You think you and Avery would be up to going to Maeva’s hockey game this weekend? It’s on Saturday, three o’clock.”

 

The phone slips from Sid’s hand and drops to the carpet. He can’t hear Duper’s _hello_ ’s; his ears are ringing.

 

 

*

 

 

Avery is too perceptive not to notice the change in Sidney’s behavior.

 

“I’m okay with it being just us,” Avery says in a small voice over dinner. Chicken pot pie. “You don’t have to be sad.”

 

Sidney holds his fork tighter. The scars on his arms have long faded to the point where nobody can see them, although Sid always remembers that they were there, and they throb. “What do you mean, bud?”

 

“You’re sad Spencer’s gone,”

 

“I’m not sad about Spencer,” Sid says, because he thinks he’s finally not. Spencer was just another one of Sid’s long line of boyfriends. “I’m just sad about us being alone. I’m just missing your Aunt Taylor,”

 

Earlier Sid wanted to call her. He had a panic attack though. By the time he was done, he knew she was likely in class. He hates disturbing her.

 

Avery fidgets in his chair with his lips pursed. Sid chuckles. So much of his own face he sees in his son. “We’re not alone because we have each other,” he decides. And then, “Maybe Aunt Taylor should move _here_. Then we’ll all be together!”

 

Sid’s thought about that too. He loves his sister. She lives so close to home, though. So, close to their mother and he doesn’t want to go back to her and he can’t make his sister chose him over their mother. Taylor would, but someone has to keep their mother sane and it’s already been decided that it won’t be Sid.

 

“Aunt Taylor has Katie and her whole team,” Sid shakes his head. “I promise we’ll visit more often. To not be alone.”

 

Avery shoves a mouthful of carrots and shreds of chicken into his mouth at once. Through it, he grins.

 

Avery is five so he accepts the answer happily. His family is all he needs; his dad, grandma, and Aunt Taylor. They’re all he knows.

 

 

*

 

 

“Hey, Dana, it’s me, Sidney Crosby. I was thinking things over the other day and I think I’m going to have to pull Avery from the team. I can’t keep pretending I can afford it. I’ll drop the rental gear off at the rink as soon as I can. Thanks,”

 

 

*

 

 

Little tears ball up in the corners of Avery’s eyes daring to spill over.

 

“I’ll find you a new team next season,” Sid promises. He’ll put a whole savings jar aside for it to prove it. Not a single tip will go anywhere else.

 

Avery struggles as Sid tries to hold him but eventually gives in to the sobs and his father’s comfort. He still doesn’t understand. Sid said they wouldn’t be moving now that Spencer’s gone.

 

“We’re not moving, I promised,” Sid says, hating that word. “We’re just – I can’t afford hockey right now. Just for now. I think it’s best if you take a break.”

 

The crying pushes Avery to exhaustion. He falls asleep early at eight o’clock.

 

 

*

 

 

“Hey, Sid, I, uh, talked it over with the other guys and – look, just keep the equipment.” Dana lets out a heavy sigh on the recording. “Best of luck to you. Don’t be a stranger.”

 

 

*

 

 

Sid looks down at the teenager in front of him and tries not to judge.

 

“Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” he asks her.

 

She shrugs. “My dad and I just moved here,” she says. Carefully she fills out the form for her library card. Her name is Aly, written in pretty cursive, but her last name Sid takes a beat longer to read upside down before her hand covers it as she starts to fill out her address straight from a picture on her phone. She apparently lives in Warrendale.

 

Taylor could probably afford Warrendale one day, after she makes it to the big leagues.

 

“Hey, Sid,” Jess interrupts, “you think you could convince Ellen to let someone else handle the return books? She’s trying to lift the boxes again.”

 

“Ellen’s about to have her baby any minute now,” Sid replies in disbelief. “You’d think she’d want her time off.”

 

Jess shakes her head. “I know I would,”

 

“I’ll talk to her in a minute, I’m just finishing up here.” Sid glances again at the form. The girl is starting to fill out her adult guardian’s information.

 

“Oh, I can take it from here. Just issuing a library card?” Jess asks.

 

Aly hums with her little nod.

 

“You know, we just got in copies of the newest edition of _Selection_. Have you read it before? Kiera Cass is _amazing_ ,” she sings. “It’s not just, you know, your regular romance novel. It’s so good!”

 

Sid lowers his head to hide the laugh when Aly shoots him a look. _Save me_ , it says but Sidney has a nine-month pregnant lady to convince taking off a few days so he can’t. Jess might even be more stubborn than Ellen.

 

 

*

 

 

Come Saturday, Duper has a new babysitter to boast about.

 

“Carole-Lyne found her off one of those babysitter sites with crazy reviews. Like, making up stories for kids for bedtime and shit. I have _four_ kids. It’s hard for them to all agree on something,” Duper says in between nursing his beer.

 

“You might want to drink a bit slower,” Kris teases, “or you’re really going to look like you belong in a beer league.”

 

“Ha ha,” Duper deadpans. “As if I haven’t heard that one before.” He reaches over the bar to smack Kris but misses. “I thought part of customer service meant not insulting customers to their faces.”

 

“I guess I missed that day of training,” Kris retorts.

 

Sid listens to their argument with amusement. For future Fridays, he might want to think about hiring this new babysitter. The teen two doors down does a good enough job but he’s already invited his girlfriend over once. If he had better options, Sid wouldn’t have hired him again.

 

“What’s her name?” Sid asks, hand almost stuck in the glass he’s trying to dry.

 

Duper purses his lips. “Alyona, I think. Alyona Malkin.” Like a shot, Duper polishes off the rest of his drink. “I’ll have Carole-Lyne give you her information tomorrow. You’re still going to the game, right?”

 

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Sid replies.

 

He hasn’t been very good with his promises lately. This one he has to pull through on.

 

 

*

 

 

Maeva takes an accidental high stick in the middle of the game. The face cage prevents the damage from being too bad but that doesn’t stop Carole-Lyne from running to the bench to check on her daughter. Maeva’s coach’s back is to the game, standing as a guard from any possible flying pucks so he can remove her helmet to check for injury.

 

“Probably just bit her tongue or something,” Duper says. “Sucks though,”

 

“Daddy said a bad word,” Zoe chimes, pushing her small hands against her father’s cheeks. She giggles when he pretends to bite them.

 

The little girl who threw the high stick skates off to the penalty box, dragging her stick behind her. Sid almost thinks that her father looks proud of the penalty.

 

“Daddy,” Lola says, tugging on her father’s sleeve, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

 

“Alright, sweetheart,” Duper says, one eye on the game and the other on his child. “I’ll take you. Sid, do you mind watching the kids?”

 

“No problem,” he replies.

 

“Thanks. Before I go, does anyone else need a bathroom break?” Duper asks. Lola dances as she holds her father’s hand.

 

Kody squeezes his legs together. He’s keeping a close eye on his sister on the bench.

 

“Kody, you need to go?”

 

The boy whimpers, “Yeah … but Maeva,”

 

“She’ll be okay. She’s a strong one,” Duper insists.

 

Reluctantly, Kody accepts the answer for what it is. He reaches out to hold his father’s other hand. He watches the game even as his father tugs him away from the bleachers for the bathrooms.

 

Sid knocks his knee against Zoe’s. “Your sister’s going to be okay.”

 

Zoe barely glances at Sid. “I know,”

 

 

*

 

 

“You have to meet Coach Gonchar, Uncle Sid! He’s so cool,” Maeva exclaims. Her tiny hand tugs him along through a crowd of parents. “He played in the KHL, it’s like the _NHL_ for Russia.”

 

“That is pretty cool,” Sid replies humorously. “That’s kind of a big deal.”

 

“It _is_ ,” she wholeheartedly agrees.

 

Gonchar, although appearing to be preoccupied talking to another parent, waves. “Game winning goal scorer!” he says to her, holding his hand up for her to high-five. His proud smile expands as she jumps to smack her hand loudly against his. “And this must be the famous Uncle Sidney I hear so much about.”

 

Sidney blushes. Being called uncle sounds special. “In the flesh,” he jokes, shyly.

 

“It is nice to meet you,” Gonch says, offering his hand to shake. “I hear that your son also plays hockey like Maeva.”

 

“Yes, well, it’s complicated right now. He doesn’t have a team currently,” Sid says. He takes a deep breath in hearing Maeva’s small gasp.

 

“Well, if you’re in the market to find a new one, I can introduce you to good friend of mine. He just moved here from Massachusetts and he’s about to take over the head coach position for the boys’ midget team,” Gonch places both hands on Sidney’s shoulders to prevent him from going anywhere. He spies someone over Sid’s shoulder and loudly says, “Zhenya, come here. There’s someone you should meet.”

 

Zhenya laughs loudly, finishing one conversation to smoothly go to another. He’s dressed comfortably in a gray cardigan and light wash blue jeans. His eyes are droopy but intense the way he looks at Sid first, his tongue idly dragging over his bottom lip.

 

“Zhenya, this is Sidney Crosby, his son plays hockey but he’s without a team. I think you can help him,” Gonch explains.

 

“That is problem,” Zhenya agrees. “But I’m fix. I’m Evgeni, it’s nice to meet. Americans call me Geno.” He likewise tries to shake Sid’s hand.

 

Shakily, Sid takes it. It feels as big and warm as Sidney remembers. “Actually, I’m Canadian.”

 

“ _Daaad_ ,” Aly whines, her coat and scarf tugged up high, “can I have the keys so I can warm up the car?”

 

Evgeni laughs, not looking at his daughter as he tries to hand the keys off to her without looking. Their hands repeatedly miss each other, drawing a smile on Sid’s lips. “Alyona so impatient. Not sure who she gets that from. I’m have to go, but I get your number?”

 

Sidney nods. “Of course, I’ll call you,” he says eagerly.

 

“Not if I’m call you first,” Evgeni teases.

 

“Want to bet?” Sid replies bravely.

 

“Gross,” Aly pretends to gag. “C’mon, Maeva, we shouldn’t have to watch them be gross.”

 

Sid feels his blush spread tenfold, down his neck and up to his ears. Evgeni chuckles, and with the absence of the children and Gonch having wandered off elsewhere, steps closer. He’s close enough to touch and smell the cologne he’s wearing. It smells like forest pine trees.

 

“I’m promise, I’m most romantic. I cook dinner and not ask for kiss on first date,” Evgeni says, his fingers twitch at his sides. Sid removes his own from his pockets, open and waiting. “End of night, I make Disney prince look bad.”

 

“I’ll take you up on that,” Sid smiles, genuinely, ear to ear to the point where he aches.

 

Evgeni laughs, low and private just for them to hear, leaning down to press their foreheads together briefly. It might be too early to be flirting with Avery’s possible future hockey coach but Sid just gets the feeling that Evgeni belongs.

 

Sidney thinks he _understands_. It’s magical.

**Author's Note:**

> Russian translations-  
> Я вас понимаю = I understand you.  
> Хочу, чтобы ты была моей//(replaced with) ты бил мой = I wish you were mine.
> 
> Both taken from this website (http://www.meighan.net/alexander/index.htm).


End file.
